I'll let you in on a little secret

The Pratt Community Concert Association's annual concert series is a great bargain.

Perhaps it’s one of the best kept secrets in Pratt and southwest Kansas. It has been around for 74 years locally and has brought a wide-range of musical performers to town.

What is it? The Pratt Community Concert Association’s annual concert series.

This program, which runs from October through April this season, brings a diverse group of artists to the stage here in Pratt. It’s a bargain at only $35 for the season, which entitles the season-pass holder to attend concerts not only in Pratt but also in Great Bend, Dodge City, and Liberal, all of which have their own unique community concert series.

The most recent local performance, Two on Tap, delighted local audience members with an evening of song and dance. Melissa Giattino and Ron DeStefano, accompanied by David Snyder on the piano, gave an energetic performance of 20s, 30s, and 40s tunes, splashed with Broadway songs, jazz tunes, and a few more recent numbers. Pratt was fortunate to have such talented trio land on the Carpenter Stage, artists who had individually performed in Broadway shows, national tours, and venues throughout the world. The evening featured too many highlights to mention, but a personal favorite for me was when DeStefano filled the room with his powerful tenor voice in a solo rendition of Judy Garland’s, “You’ll Never Walk Alone.”

Prior to Two on Tap performing, Miss Kansas, Sloane Lewis, treated concertgoers to a short piano solo, a warm up for next month’s Miss America Pageant in Las Vegas.

Another bonus happened after the Monday night concert in the lobby when DeStefano demonstrated how to tap dance, enthralling two young girls with his personal performance for them.

Truly, the Pratt Community Concert Association brings culture and talent to town which rivals that found in much larger cities, and it does so at the very affordable price of less than $6 a ticket for the local performance. Where else can one enjoy six nights out close to home for less than the cost of a single ticket to a college or professional sporting event or headliner concert at the Intrust Bank Arena in Wichita?